Grading Missouri Schools with Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank

About this episode

Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank discuss the MOSchoolRankings.org website and its implications for grading Missouri schools.

Visit the site: https://moschoolrankings.org/ Susan Pendergrass and Avery Frank join Zach Lawhorn to discuss MOSchoolRankings.org, the Show-Me Institute's website that assigns letter grades and GPAs to Missouri schools and districts using publicly available academic and spending data. They explore how the site works, why Missouri has lagged behind other states on accessible school report cards, and how the governor's executive order requiring A through F grades may change that. They also discuss the most common objections to grading schools, how growth and proficiency data account for differences in student populations, the status of report card legislation in the 2026 session, and more. Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

People in this episode

Guests: Susan Pendergrass, Avery Frank

Topics covered

• Missouri schools
• school grading
• education policy
• academic data
• school report cards

Keywords

• letter grades
• GPAs
• publicly available data
• executive order
• report card legislation

Mentioned in this episode

Products: MOSchoolRankings.org

Places: Missouri

More episodes of Show-Me Institute Podcast

• How to Think About Persuasion in Public Policy with Josh Bandoch · April 21, 2026 · 17 min
• Audio Brief: Opening the Nuclear Sector Up to Innovation in Missouri · April 20, 2026 · 3 min
• Audio Brief: MOScholars Wins in Court · April 16, 2026 · 2 min
• Audio Brief: Looking at Missouri's "A" Districts · April 7, 2026 · 3 min
• Audio Brief: Missouri's Film Tax Credits Still Don't Add Up · April 4, 2026 · 3 min
• Audio Brief: Earnings Tax Defenders Unable to Defend Earnings Tax · April 3, 2026 · 3 min